Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-04-12
A PERSIAN AT HOME.
AN AMERICAN AMONG THE SUB
JECTS OF THE SHAH.

Greeted by the Wives and Their Babies.
The Evening Meal-soiaee of the Pipe.
Music on the Guitar-A Visitor Ar
rives.
Rayza Mohammed is my servant He is a
good Mussulman, although not strictly ortho-
dox, belonging to the sect of Dawoodees and
believing that strong drink was given by
Allah to cheer the heart of man Being
Jolly fellow and good Moslem, he has three
wives. il does not take much to support
three wives in Persia, hardly more than TO
support one, that is among the poorer classes.
The first wife he married when she was II and
he II. She was his cousin, fair Mayrich, and
she lords it over the other two, being a rela-
| tive It's 6 O'Clock, and ] have dismissed
| Ery, for the night As he enters the low
| dgnl Ills little house by the Dwazeh kaswin.
| he =, ets his women folk with: Peace be
with We" and they reply in chorus: with ven
also he peace and the goodness of Allah
| The babies, however, are not quite so formal
They rlamter up on his knees us soon as he
| has SOU Il town before his meal, served on
the floor aaI arranged around him in num-
Der of small tin platters, each covered with a
cone SHAPED dish.
THE EVENING MEAL.
| Thei respective mothers bear the little
| mischiefs away. though, and the papa gravely
dips his fingers III a brass basin and goes
| through the form of the religious ablution.
| Then be reaches out for the various dishes.
| in one there Is the succuent rice made beau
| tiful to look at by saffron and little shreds OF
| mutton. In another there is roast lamb. In
| another there is sour soup, favored with
| lime Juice and containing hits of meat. He
helps himself to all these good things in turn
his sleeves being tucked up to the elbow,
| using no knife, fork OF spoon, but instead
pieces of the iiabby. fiat bread which he tear
off from slice as big as sheet and lying al
bis right hand side Dexterously he scoops
up the gravy and the broth, and is sooI
| ready for his dessert, which consists of Gu
cumhers peaches ana Jelly from heaven" &
species of pudding made of rice -four ant
pistaches He then rises, goes in front of thu
house to the brink of the Kanaut canal o.
running water, conducted from the icy top:
of mountains), and drinks from the hollow
of his hand good draught Meanwhile tbs
women and the children have simultaneously
made a ravenous attack upon the remnant
of the edibles, and when the master return
they have finished.
Rayza sits down on his rug spread on
on the raised part of the room facing east
'Ghalyan biar. he says briefly. His favorit
wife, Mayrich, brings it to him, first settin,
the charcoal and the moistened ShIraz tam
beki7 in a glow by pulling at the blacl
mouthpiece herself for minute and blowing
out the thick, powerful smoke through he
! nostrils. The pipe is in first class working
order and the water makes its pleasant but
bling sound at regular intervals as he inhale
the smoke. "khoub est" Rayza says whic
! expression of approval on his part make
Mayricl, for the moment, the focus of hi
other wives Jealous eyes. The Persian is nc
| laxative with his wives, although he is ger
orally kind and indulgent to them. The IT
ligiouS law having ordered all these thing:
down to the Ininutest detail, there is niue
I less jealousy and wrangling among the dit
ferent wives and with their lord than on
might suppose. But in this particular ca;
: there was perhaps just cause for jealousy, b.
Il cause it WAS really that evening Malek's tur
y to wait on the husband and to become his e.
i, pecial companion. She, however. is only
temporary wife" and her rights are thert
fore not strictly respected